They believe that adverts in women's magazines often give patients unrealistic expectations and encourage them to make snap decisions about breast enlargements, tummy tucks and liposuction without proper consultation.

Douglas McGeorge, president of the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons, yesterday identified several adverts, including a 'misleading' before-and-after sequence promoting breast implants.

Others included one offering 'five in one' operation packages for £3,950, a lunch-break facelift, which Mr McGeorge said was impossible, and another offering a £500 discount on surgery if women signed up quickly.

Crackdown: Actress Leslie Ash is one of the most famous examples of botched surgery

Speaking at the BAAPS annual conference, Mr McGeorge, a consultant plastic surgeon, said: 'We are very concerned about the quality of adverts in some women's magazines. The idea of a lunch-break facelift is lovely but it simply does not exist, it is impossible.

'Similarly, offers encouraging people to sign up quickly to get discounts are rushing them into procedures without considering whether the treatment is appropriate for them.

'Many of these adverts have been touched up and are encouraging false expectations of cosmetic surgery.'

He added: 'For them [the clinics] it is all about getting people through the till, rather than patient care.'

Most clinics sign up to the Independent Healthcare Authority's code of practice, which states that adverts should not encourage unrealistic expectations.

But it is voluntary and often flouted, Mr McGeorge said.

Last year, Harley Medical Group, one of Britain's largest cosmetic surgery firms, withdrew a poster campaign after receiving complaints that it was misleading.

The adverts - running in a sequence of panels alongside escalators on the London Underground - showed an image of an unsmiling flat-chested woman, then the same woman, this time with a large grin and bigger breasts, followed by a third panel saying: 'Gorgeous breasts just got easy with cosmetic surgery.'

The Advertising Standards Agency said that claiming breast enlargement was 'easy' and without risk was irresponsible.

Nigel Mercer, president-elect of BAAPS, said he had recently seen a woman who had undergone a 'three in one' offer which involved her having a tummy tuck, breast reduction and facelift under a single general anaesthetic.

'Adding lots of lengthy operations, during up to four hours' anaesthesia, means the risk of infection and thrombosis is greater.'

Yesterday, a spokesman for the Harley Medical Group said it withdrew the London Underground adverts before being contacted by the ASA.

She added: 'As a cosmetic surgery provider with an exemplary record of patient care, we took this most seriously and now submit all our advertising to our medical team and then to the ASA before it is rolled out.'

A consultant plastic surgeon said a lunchbreak facelift 'simply does not exist'

... But a boost for Botox

Botox injections can help to slow the ageing process if used regularly over a prolonged period, research suggested yesterday.

The toxin, used to iron out wrinkles and creases, has previously been seen as a 'quick fix' whose effects last for a few months.

But scientists now believe it may have longer-lasting benefits.

Plastic surgeons surveyed 68 women aged between 50 and 65 who were due to undergo a second facelift.

Of these, 24 had undergone at least two Botox injections a year for the past nine years.

Surgeons found that the ageing process had been significantly slowed in these patients - with just two of them needing a browlift as part of the facelift procedure.

In comparison, of the remaining 44 women who had not used Botox regularly, more than half - 24 - needed a browlift as well as the facelift.